Cumberland, ME – Dependable trotter Brutalizer will look to take his redemption by force on Saturday (March 28) as the morning-line favorite in the $6,200 featured trot at Cumberland Raceway.
Finishing second in last week’s winners-over class, the 5-year-old son of Alarm Detector has been a model of consistency since finding his way into the Harrington Stable last November. From the time of his Downeast arrival, the horse has two wins, three second-place finishes, and a third on his resume. This week, in the absence of last week’s victor Big Al M, all tickets must include the 9-5 trackman’s choice.
Driven by Andy Harrington for trainer/partner Sara Harrington, Brutalizer earned a handsome $73,319 in 35 starts last season, with eight wins. He scores from post five in the seventh race of an 11-race card. His primary threat, Nice Guy Eddie, scores inside with Kevin Switzer Jr. at the lines and is listed at 5-2.
The Harringtons also have pacing mare Whisper Of Luck poised and ready to pounce in the 10th; she is listed as the 9-5 favorite from post four. They have six in-to-go on Saturday, as does trainer Jamie Gerard.
For fans of the diagonally gaited set, there are three additional trotting races on the card, which are slated for races 2, 4 and 9.
The exotic wagering menu has been enhanced to get things going early with the 50-cent Pick-5 added to the opener. The Pick-4 starts with the last four races on the program (races 8-11) and Pick-3 begins in the ninth race. All boast a low 16% takeout. In addition, the 20-cent Superfecta is available in races 4, 6 and 8, along with a Pentafecta in races 5 and the finale.
Racing continues on Sunday (March 29) with a 13-race card of full fields. The featured $7,000 winners-over pace once again includes the area’s swiftest sidesteppers in race 8. All of the action during both days of live harness racing can be viewed in its entirety directly through the Racetrack Television Network, with replays available on the First Tracks Cumberland website.
First Tracks Cumberland’s spring/summer meet will continue throughout the spring season with regular racing on Saturday and Sunday each weekend through the month of April. The only exception is no racing on Easter Sunday (April 5).
Friday (April 24) marks the start of six weeks of Friday-Saturday racing, through the month of May, after which the calendar reverts back to Saturday-Sunday for the month of June.
First post is slated for 12:15 p.m. (EDT) during the extended pari-mutuel meeting, which runs through Aug. 2.
A complete calendar and additional information can be viewed by visiting the First Track’s Cumberland website: https://firsttrackscumberland.com/racing-info/.